Director of Library Collections
Library
Summary
The Director of Library Collections assumes responsibility for the policies, workflows, staff, and
campus relations involved in gathering, organizing, and stewarding library collections in all
formats. This newly created position reports to the college Librarian and works closely with staff
in Special Collections, ITS, and the Center for Digital Liberal Arts on matters of scholarly
communication, technical infrastructure, and Academic Commons facility and program
development. The Director develops strategies to manage Library collections, including, for
example, licensing, acquisitions and cataloging, preservation, access, collection assessment, and
growth, and works with consortial partners, vendors, College constituents, and the library
community as a whole to ensure that students and faculty have efficient access to the range of
teaching and research materials needed in their work.
Duties, in consultation with the College Librarian:
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Oversees development of the Library collection plan articulated by the Academic Commons Task
Force in 2011; works with faculty and Center for Digital Liberal Arts staff to ensure the provision
of the appropriate resource base and materials access mechanisms; works with faculty on
demand-driven collection building.
Establishes roles and functions, sets priorities, develops workflows and policies, and participates
in the work of the following positions: Librarian for Data Management and Integrity, Acquisitions
and Purchasing Specialist, Serials Specialist, Resource-Sharing Specialist, Catalog Data Specialist,
and Circulation and Reserves Manager. Hires, or collaborates with those who hire, train,
supervise, and evaluate full/part-time regular and student staff.
Develops, leads, and widely communicates collection assessment and evaluation plans; compiles
and reports statistics for internal use and for national surveys and coordinates these with
Institutional Research.
Works with library vendors and consortia on matters relating to materials provision and access.
Represents the Library in relevant regional and national bodies and participates in the
development of standards, partnerships, and policies that enhance campus access to materials
and promote the interests of readers in information access.
As manager of library collections and the spaces they occupy, works with others in Information
Resources and with staff in other campus units housed in the Academic Commons on matters
pertaining to building design and management.
Qualifications
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Minimum of five to ten years of experience in acquisitions, metadata creation, collection
management, and electronic resource management; experience as a materials selector,
experience working with students and faculty in using library materials.
Understanding of national trends affecting library collections and services and knowledge
required to implement an evolving program of acquisitions, materials, description, and metadata
creation; experience managing a collections budget and familiarity with changing business models
for collection building and management and with the range of means available for providing
access to materials; fluency with collections assessment strategies and data-informed decision
making; knowledge of library management systems and the systems they interact with;
awareness of trends in scholarly communication and academic publishing.
Broad acquaintance with the work of libraries in campus communities.
Superior interpersonal and project management skills; a record as a successful team builder and a
demonstrated commitment to staff engagement and development; flexibility for working within a
constantly evolving organization where responsibilities are shared across departments.
Superior analytical, organizational, problem-solving and communication skills.
Commitment to the values of a liberal arts education and the desire to strengthen the scholarly
community through involvement in activities that create and distribute knowledge.
MLS from an ALA accredited program or its equivalent in work experience, education, and
training; advanced academic credentials desirable.
To apply, submit a resume and cover letter to: resumes@oxy.edu. Priority will be given to resumes
received by March 6, 2015. The position will remain open until filled.
If you have questions regarding the responsibilities/requirements of the position, please contact Robert
Kieft, College Librarian, at kieft@oxy.edu.